Hyper Distortion
by zer0heroes
Summary: The Wheel of Fate has turned, and heroes from across reality and space heed its call as their worlds cross paths. For those whose destinies have been defined by battle, what does the stage of history hold for them?


_\- January 31, 2XXX - _

_To my dearest Rachel,_

_It has always been a very human expression to say that as one grows older, so too they become wiser and aware of the world - freed from the brashness of youth, and the many impulsive tragedies that befall it. Silly as it is to think that it can apply to the likes of us - creatures destined to live for centuries on end, I cannot help but reflect on such matters knowing that my time in this world is coming to an end, at which point the duties of the Alucard clan will be left to you, my daughter._

_Obviously, this would mean that everything I have owned and will own up until my passing shall be bequeathed to you. This includes one particular device which will be of most grave importance, not just to you, but to the fabric of reality, time and space itself. _

_In my youth, I was intrigued by these very subjects, you see. Spent many a day in the old family hold going through volume after volume about how it would be theoretically possible to intersect with these alternate fates as it were. How could the creation of new possibilities affect this goal of mine? This question, like so many others I had asked as a younger man, seemed like excellent ideas at the time. _

_Enter SYSTEM No. XX, an advanced artificial intelligence of my own design. With it, I was able to peer into timelines that differed in ways both big and small. Initially, I was content to simply observe any event of my choosing, with SYSTEM ready to store and analyze any data I deemed pertinent at the time. That data would later be used to formulate the creation of new possibilities through more splinter timelines - a butterfly effect as it were._

_My trips to the past have given me insight into how mankind's past shaped how the world as it is today was formed. I bore witness to empires crumbling, the creation of alternate planes of reality, shadowy wars fought for ages between rival factions, and even would-be deities fall at the hands supposedly ordinary folk who determination made them legendary figures in their own rights - some of whom should be etched into record books in the library, if you had time to stop lazing around every now and then. The one constant I saw out of all of these was conflict, lots of it. Heroes and villains wielding abilities, powers and skills far beyond what any normal man can achieve battling for whatever causes they championed._

_What I had failed to account for were the side effects of creating such a machine. As my trips into the past and future continued, so too did SYSTEM's own independent escapades while I was away. Over time, it seemed that it had grown obsessed over a specific outcome: a massive gathering of warriors from all walks of life that would result in the collapse of our universe. As she continued to manipulate events to bring this endgame and make it a reality, I had no choice but to destroy it if it were even possible._

_Consider it yet another failure on my part that I could not even destroy it with the tremendous power I myself bore in my physical prime. SYSTEM had also grown in power through its analysis of battle data from heroes and warriors scattered across reality, leaving me no choice but to go for my alternate course of action: a mystic seal that would keep it in stasis. Nearly every ounce of my being went into that spell, and although I expect that it will still hold up even after I pass, I fear that it can still be undone one day by someone more powerful or sly than I._

_All that said, I implore you to honor one last request from a dying old man. Keep SYSTEM under lock and key, and let no harm come to it lest all of existence fades away in an instant. _

_Your loving father,_

_Clavis_

**Author's Note: Christ and a half, I finally got to working on this. First fanfic, y'all!**

**Anyway, I've had this idea stuck in my head for a long time - since the ****_Cross Tag Battle _****reveal back around EVO 2017, in fact! The style and presentation gave me a lot of vibes about how the older ****_Marvel vs. Capcom _****games were in the late 90s, and seeing as how I feel like I've become very familiar with all six of those franchises, I decided to hop in and sort of throw my hat into the fray and see how well I could take a shot at something like this. Admittedly, this is a large undertaking for myself, but I'm hoping to learn a lot from the experience and see how this turns out; maybe even get other peeps much more skilled than I inspired to take a crack at this crossover concept. With that all said, time to get some house-keeping outta the way:**

**1\. I wrapped this up sometime after we got word of Arcana Heart and the sixth fate showing up in ****_CTB_****, and since I lack any really intimate knowledge of the former, any other franchises that get added into it in the future aren't going to show up. Apologies if you were probably expecting them.**

**2\. Don't expect constant updates. Like, as much as possible, I wanna see if I ****_could, _****but obligations and the occasional bout of writers' block will hit me every now and then. Not professional of me - I understand, but right now I feel like being upfront with you guys about this is the better way to go.**

**3\. For the sake of some consistency, the Capcom side of this crossover is just going to be limited to ****_Street Fighter _****and ****_Darkstalkers_****. Least that'll give you some idea as to who you could expect.**

**Well, guess that's it. Hope y'all will enjoy what comes next - any feedback about what happens is always welcome. Need that room for improvement, after all!**


End file.
